Chapter 9. Intonational form and speaker belief in Mieres Asturian polar questions
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Eduardo García-Fernández
Abstract
Speakers can use distinct intonation contours in polar questions to convey information about ‘degree of commitment.’ The present study analyzes the intonational variation in Mieres Asturian polar questions and explores whether speakers encode information about their belief states intonationally. A production experiment was designed to elicit polar questions, and the results uncovered three main intonational patterns, namely H+L* L%, H* L%, and L* L%. The data show that, while H+L* L% is used as a canonical or ‘default’ PQ-marking tune and does not encode any information about speaker belief states, H* L% and L* L% are epistemically specified, expressing a positive epistemic bias towards the proposition, and a state of disbelief on the part of the speaker, respectively.
Abstract
Speakers can use distinct intonation contours in polar questions to convey information about ‘degree of commitment.’ The present study analyzes the intonational variation in Mieres Asturian polar questions and explores whether speakers encode information about their belief states intonationally. A production experiment was designed to elicit polar questions, and the results uncovered three main intonational patterns, namely H+L* L%, H* L%, and L* L%. The data show that, while H+L* L% is used as a canonical or ‘default’ PQ-marking tune and does not encode any information about speaker belief states, H* L% and L* L% are epistemically specified, expressing a positive epistemic bias towards the proposition, and a state of disbelief on the part of the speaker, respectively.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- List of reviewers ix
- Chapter 1. Northern soul 1
- Chapter 2. Asturian and Asturian Spanish at the syntax-phonology interface 15
- Chapter 3. Semantic anchoring 45
- Chapter 4. Are Asturian clitics distinctly distinct? 73
- Chapter 5. ¿Qué che femos con el che? 93
- Chapter 6. Pluractional perfects in Eonavian Spanish 109
- Chapter 7. Middle formation and inalienability in Asturian 131
- Chapter 8. Negation in Asturian 151
- Chapter 9. Intonational form and speaker belief in Mieres Asturian polar questions 173
- Chapter 10. Minority language bilingualism and its role in L3 lexical acquisition 195
- Index 217
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- List of reviewers ix
- Chapter 1. Northern soul 1
- Chapter 2. Asturian and Asturian Spanish at the syntax-phonology interface 15
- Chapter 3. Semantic anchoring 45
- Chapter 4. Are Asturian clitics distinctly distinct? 73
- Chapter 5. ¿Qué che femos con el che? 93
- Chapter 6. Pluractional perfects in Eonavian Spanish 109
- Chapter 7. Middle formation and inalienability in Asturian 131
- Chapter 8. Negation in Asturian 151
- Chapter 9. Intonational form and speaker belief in Mieres Asturian polar questions 173
- Chapter 10. Minority language bilingualism and its role in L3 lexical acquisition 195
- Index 217
